Folding deck stock car



June 9, 1931. A RBURKE Y 1,809,772

FOLDING DECK STOCK CAR Filed Feb. 25, -1928 ATTORNEY Patented Jun'e 9,"1931 UNITEDv STATES i?,Ai'lliNfly OFFICE ARTHUR n. mmm, or* necessarie;manson f ronnrive DECK s'rocx can" ppiieatibn ined Februaryaaxiszsfseria'i No. 256,948.

a portion lof the deck may be used for stock* and the other portion Vofthe deck may be eniplayed for receiving and retaining feed for thestock.

A further object ofrny invention is to supply a stock 'car of ordinaryconstruction with a double deck or floor and to so construct thisk deckor floor that it may be extended to anV operative position or foldedagainst the sides i or roof of the car, so as to enable the car to beused Without the Supper deck or floor, and,` at the Sametime when upperdecks or floors are foldedto lower sides of car, they are in positionforfeasy cleaning. s

A further objectief ifny invention is toprof vide a device of the typeldescribed Which proi vides a shielding ,means for the yanimals when inone position.

Other objects andadvantageswill appearA in the following specification,and the novel features of the inventijonfwill be particularly pointedout in the appendedclaims. My invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawingfrning part of this ap- Y plication, in which Figure1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the line1-1 of 55 tially along the line 2 2 of Figure 1,

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 are diagrammaticillustrations of the deviceillustrating the deck in various positions,

Figure 7 is a detailed view of aportion of my device, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view of a portion of my device. v

In carrying out my invention, I provide body portion 1 having side Walls2 and 8, a

provided vvith spaced-apart slats as is the 911.8159171? Stok CMS, forproviding. the proper .Vt-Il tilation,l Beams 7 lare disposed atspacedapart positionsluponthe side Walls 2 and 3 for, supporting the top5.

v V l Three sect ons; i. e., end sections A andlB, u -and acentralfsection C, are provided.k The,

endfsections an'dfB are substantially iden-y tical in construction. nandare vprovided with niovablekfportions 8- and 9, and and 11,respeictively.LV The central section Gis provided Withinovableportionsl2 and 13. The port-ions 8 to 13, inclusive, are all rovided withreinforcingstrips 14 h avinge ongated', slot-s V15Min theouter endsthereof.; A plurality of'supporting bars 16 is providedY 'for theportions 8'and9` of the section A.

A, plurality of supporting bars 17 is providedfor the portions 12andl'of the .secf tion` G, and a plurality loffsupporting @bars 18 isprovided for the portions 1() and 11`of the. section B.' The bars 16,17, and 18 are identical in construction-therefore, a de-4 scription ofoneWill applytothern all'. Fory example, by `viewing Figurej2, it yvillbe noted that the bars are, provided with horizontal rest portions 19which extend through 'the side j Walls` and are rigidly vsecuredthereto. Vertical guide portions 20enj`tend upwardly from the restportion;v At the upper eXtrenifity of the vrest portion, the-supportingbar vis f y formed into `a retaining eyelet 21. From the eyelet 21j,lthe j supporting bar entends in .a horizontal directionand is rigidlysecured to the side Wallyas shown. Y The supportingbars 16, 17, and 18-extend through the` ,elongated :Openings in the reinforcing stripsandfiii this marine'rthe portions of the sections A, B, and C aresubstantially hinged tq the supporting bars. The inner edges of theportions of the sections A, B, and Careprovided with retaining ringsoreye lets 22 which are arranged ,to receive, hooks 23y carried .bychain`sf24. The .opposite ends of the chains 24 are supported by means'of brackets 25Whichfare rigidlysecuied to the Froin he foregoingydescription of the .var'- ous yparts y of vthe device, the, .operatioiithereof floor l, and a top 5^. The Walls 2 and 3 'are rua-y bereadilyunderstood.`r` ltninay be lobv umY served by viewing Figures 1 and 2that the portions of the sections A, B, and C may be disposed in theposition parallel with the floor 4. While in this position, the portionsof the sections A, B, and C are supported at their outer edges by theportions 19 of the supporting bars. The portions of the sections A and Bare supported at their inner edges by the chains 24. The portions 12 and13 of the section C are provided with sliding latches 26 which arearranged to be moved outwardly into engagement with the upper surfacesof the portions of the sections A and B. In this manner, the additionaldeck is provided for smaller animals, such as hogs or sheep. The portion12 of the section C may be lowered or raised, if desired, for aiding inthe loading of the stock. The same is true of the portion 13.

The portions of any one or all of the sections may be released byremoving the hooks 23 from the eyelets 22 and allowing the portions toswing downwardly and assume a position adjacent the side walls 2 and 3.In this manner, the stock, when only the lower deck is used. isprotected against the wind or weather. This is illustrated in Figure 3.

Furthermore, one or more of the sections A, B, and C may be used forstock and the remaining section or sections may be used for receivingand retaining feed for the stock. When this is desired, the section forreceiving and retaining the feed is placed in the position illustratedin Figure 5. It will be observed that the outer edges of the portionsare moved upwardly until the outer ends of the reinforcing strips havebeen received in the retaining eyelets 21. When the portions aredisposed in this position` they are in the form of a trough and mayreceive and retain any desired gra-in or feed.

Any or all of the portions of the sections A, B, and C may be disposedin the positions illustrated in Figure 4t; i. e., the outer endssupported by the supporting eyelets 21 and allowed to suspend from theseeyelets in ver1 tical positions. this position, the stock will beprotected against the suns rays. While the portions are in the positionsillustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the free ends of the chains 24 may beattached to hooks 27 which are carried by the beams 7 v It is obvious byviewing Figure 6 that the portions of any one or all of the sections` A,B, and C may have their inner edges seciired to thebeams 7 while theirouter edges Y aresupported by the supporting eyelets 21.

I claim 1. The combination of a car having side walls, a floor, and atop, spaced-apart supporting bars rigidly carried by the side walls, adeck comprising a pair of sections movably connected with saidsupporting bars,

When the portions are inL one of the sections being connected with thebars upon one side of the car and movable independently with respect tothe section movably carried by the bars upon the opposite side, each ofsaid bars being spaced away from the walls of the car and provided witha loop portion extending inwardly with respect to the car, said sectionsbeing arranged to be moved to depending positions from the lower ends ofthe bars or the loop portions, said sections being further arranged tobe moved to inclined depending positions from the loop portions andconnected together, said sections being further permitted to be placedsubstantiallyy adjacent the top of the car while connected with the loopportions, and means cooperating with said bars whereby the sections maybe supported in a plane parallel with the floor of the car.

2.y The combination of a car having side walls, a floor, and a top,spaced-apart supporting bars rigidly carried by the side walls, a deckcomprising a pair of sections movably connected with said supportingbars, one of the sections being connected with the bars upon one side ofthe car and movable independently with respect to the sectionmovablycarried by the bars upon the opposite side, each of said bars beingspaced away from the walls of the car and provided with a loop portionextending inwardly with respect to the car, said sections being arrangedto be moved to depending positions from the lower ends of the bars orthe loop portions, said sections being further arranged to be moved toinclined depending positions from the loop portions and connectedtogether, said sections being further permittedv to be placedsubstantially adjacent the top of the car while connected with the loopportions, and means cooperating with said bars whereby the sections maybe supported in a plane parallel with the floor of the car, said'sections being provided with reinforcing strips having openings forreceiving said bars.

Signed at Rochester in the county of Olmsted and State of Minnesota,this 21st day of February, A. D. 1928.

ARTHUR R. BURKE.

